Pilot operated fluid pressure regulator



0 8 uw 4 2 ohr 2 Jan. 13, E953 ca. c. HUGHES PILOT OPRRATED FLUIDPRESSURE REGULATOR 2 sHEETs-SHEET 1 Filed June 50, 1950 1N VEN TOR.Geo/f6: I #a4/"fs BY @zu @am V27 @am Jan. 13, 1953 G. c. HUGHES2,624,980

PILOT OPERATED FLUID PRESSURE ruarsurmoxal Filed June 50, 195o 2sHEE'rs-SHEET 2 #7 rra e /vEy/ Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES2,624,980

rILo'r'A oPERArED FLfiij' RSSR REGULAIOBy George C.- Hughes, Andersom:Ind.; assigner to Reynolds Gas Regulator Companyr Andersom. Indi, acorporation of Indiana' Appiicationonelao; 1950, Seriana-171396 (Clal-lf) This invention relatesy to.y improvements inv fluid pressureregulators The invention is par-- ticularly concerned with-the provisionof a fluid pressure regulatorfor use ngas distribution systemswhichvwill maintain a constant reducedpressure under Yvarious nowconditions andv wherein the highv pressure, underl control-ofthepressure atregulator outlet, is utilized to actuate the regulatormechanism. 'Ifliesev therefore, are the general objects or. the presentinvention.

A- more speeic objectofthe presentl invention is to provide afluidpressure regulatorof the pressure responsive diaphragm type foruse.

gas distributionsystems,v whichv regulator willbe` provided with apilotincluding af supplemental: flexible diaphragm Whiclrresponseto thepressure atthe'outlet side of the mainfregulatory will supply uid fromthe highpressure lsidey of the main regulator tothe diaphragm thereof,ythusY will'` become more apparent from the following:

description.. referencevbein'g had to arr-embodinient' of Ithe inventionillustratedy inthe accom-` panying.- drawings. invention willbesummarized in the claims.

Inthe drawings, ligv 1" is a centrally located` vertical section of theregulator, the planeor the section being indicated by the lines I--lonjig.- 2; Fig. 2 is'a vertical section taken in :y plane'V transversevto that of Fig." 1 and which" is indicated by-'thelinesT-@zon'Fig; 1"; aportion of 'the regulatory being brok-eri away to'v more" clearlyLillustrateurs@ interna-i construction-thereof;

Referring new te the drawings-ana par cu:-

larly to Fig. 2, it will be seen-thatthe limproved regulator includes aregulator body l0 provided witlraaporton- H havingtah-ighl pressureinlet IZ- and. a-lowvl pressure outlet-*14. The inlet! isoutlet I4! isladapted'r to Vbe connected with a low" pressure' line" or's'erviceconduitj l5. The' body portion l lfispr'ovided witha passagewayHex-v a partition' walt' f1 wiif'cnextends across'the pas:

The essential features of the sagewayf anddsy provided-with av valveporti operi ing Ill-throughwhich-wthe'nuid must-pasa'k They body.-portion Il isy provided with a guide- 19inv whicli a valve 20= isvmounted forvv movement to" and from the valve portv i8:

Thevalve 20- isv actuated by a pair of toggle linksr 2| and- 22" whichare'v pivotallyl intercorre nected asat 23. Thelink- 2l ispiv'otally`con# nected tothe va1ve'20 as at 24; while'the 22: is pivotally mountedon'a pirrMA carried by1 the b'od'yf I0; Onevof= thev links; preferablythe 22;.is extensible; as indicated-fat' 25',` to` adjustit'he' relativeangular positionv -andlength ofthe-two toggle links;

The'valve 20A isi controlled' bya flexible' dia;-l phrag'm`30.' Thisdiaphragm` is-mounted betweentwo hollow portions 3l and 32`A of thebodyv Ill*V which are secured together by b'olts- 2181 and to the"body!v portion l0 by?bolts'vZll';` The' diaphragm? 30- divides the bodyl0: into upper and lower`V chambers 34 and 35'. Tl'i'e"v upper charib'er34"' comprises a loading or valve opening pr's'sure chambenwhile theAlower chamber 35' comprises a valvev closing pressure chamber'. Thedia-` phragm? 30 isi' shown `v'as mounted? betweeri a? pairl' orb-rigiddiscs-36 and carries a downwardly/proljecting' stud 31'- which` isipivotally connected by' af nnk :isrv with.v they toggle pivot zafi1irritirareV meritioi'ed.- Accordingly; the mvem'ntO-fitll'e*position-by'aspringroi 'rmsfsprisgr is -r'ourited it'sziower endislclamped-tothe bodymemberjll 'ib'ypassageway 55, the central portion ofwhich is enlarged to provide expansion chamber 56. The passageway 56 hasan inlet orice 51 which is connected by a tube or conduit 58 with thehigh pressure inlet I2 of the main regulator body portion I I. Thepassageway 55 has a low pressure outletA 5 9 which communicates with theloading chamber 34 of the main regulator. The casing 45 of the pilotvalve is provided with a second passageway 60, the inlet 6I of whichcommunicates with the loading chamber 34 of the main regulator, and theoutlet 62'of which communicates with the chamber 52 of the pilotregulator. A pair of valve guideways 65 and 66 are mounted in the wallsof the casing 45. The guideway 65 carries a valve member 10 whichcontrols` the flow of fluid through the passageway 55, while theguideway 66 carries a valve member 15 which controls the flow of uidthrough the relief passageway 60. The passageway 60 is normallyclosed byits valve member 15 through the action of a coil spring 86. Suitablepacking material 68 disposed between the guideway 66, the body 45 andthe valve member 10, prevents passage of fluid from the high pressurepassageway 55 into the pilot valve chamber 52.

The position of the valve member 10 is controlled by the flexible pilotdiaphragm 50 in response to the pressure at the low pressure or outletside of the main regulator. As shown in the drawings, a conduit .80 isconnected with the outlet conduit of the main regulator and with themain regulator chamber 35, namely the valve closing pressure chamber.The chamber 35 is connected with the chamber 52 of the pilot regulatorby a conduit 8|. Thus the pressure in the chamber 52 is responsive tochanges in the pressure of the outlet conduit l5.

The supplemental diaphragm 50 is preloaded by a spring 54 carried by thecap 5|. The pressure exerted on the diaphragm 50 by this spring isadjusted by an ladjusting nut 61 carried by thecap 5|.

The pilot diaphragm carries a stud 12 which is connected by a link 13with a pivot 14 which interconnects a pair of toggle links 16 and 11.The link 16 is pivotally connected as at 18 with the valve member 'I0while the link 11 is pivotally l connected as at 19 with the valvemember 15. The chamber 53 above the diaphragm 50 is vented to atmosphereby a breather pipe 82. Thus it will be seen that as the pressure in thechamber 52 decreases, the diaphragm 50 will drop under the action of itsloading spring 54, thus opening the valve 10. `During this time thevalve is maintained closed by a compression spring 85.

When the pressure in the chamber 52 increases due to an increase ofpressure in the outlet conduit I5 of the main regulator, the diaphragm52 will rise causing the valve 'Ill to close. The spring 86 actstomaintain the valve 15 closed until such time as the valve 10 is closedby the operation of the diaphragm 50. As soon as the valve member 10 isclosed, the reaction of this valve against its seat causes any furtherincrease in pressure in the chamber 52 to act on the diaphragm 50 andactuate the toggle linkages 16 and 11 to open the valve 15. This placesthe chamber 34 in communication with the chamber 52 and the outletconduit I5 of the main regulator, by reason of the conduits 80 and 8|,thus relieving the pressure in the chamber 34.

In operation the inlet pressure or high pressure of the main regulator,which is-connected by the conduit 58 with the passageway 55 of thesupplemental or pilot regulator, is reduced tothe re- 4 quired loadingpressure at the valve orifice 51 leading into the expansion chamber 56of such passageway. This loading pressure is controlled, by adjustmentof the pressure of the spring 54 on the pilot diaphragm 50, therebypermitting the regulator to be set to maintain the desired deliverypressure.

. Normally the forces lin operation at the pilot regulator are those ofthe pilot spring 54, which acts downwardly against the diaphragm 50 and,the outlet or low pressure set up in the pilot chamber 52 which acts inan upward direction against such diaphragm. The high pressure has noeiect whatsoever .upon the diaphragm 50 as it is restricted fromentering the pilot chamber by the wall of such chamber and the packing68.

'The loading pressure supplied at the expansion chamber56 of the pilotis transmitted directly to the loading or opening pressure chamber 34and exerts its pressure downward on the diaphragm 30 of the mainregulator. This develops suiicient pressure to overcome the action ofthe main regulator shut-oir spring 45 and the down stream or lowpressure in the chamber 35, and causes the diaphragm 30 to act, throughthe toggle mechanism 2I and 22, to open the main valve 20 whereupon themain regulator will deliver the desired outlet pressure and capacity.

When a demand is created for an increase in capacity, it results in amomentary drop in pressure in the outlet conduit I5 due to the positionof the main valve and the pipe friction at the point at which -theoutlet pressure is taken by the conduit 80. The supplemental or pilotdiaphragm 50, under the influence of such drop in pressure, will drop;This causes the toggle mechanism 11, 16 to open the valve 10 and thusincrease the pressure in the'loading chamber 34 of the main regulator.vThe Aincreased loading pressure in the chamber 34, being higher than'the original load pressure'thereon will cause the main valve 20 to openfurther to thereby meet the demand for increased capacity and thusmaintain a constant delivery pressure.

Where the demand for increased capacity in the down stream conduit I5has been sufficiently the chamber 34, the main regulator shut-ollispring 40 and the pressure of the chamber 35 within the main diaphragm30 results in an upward force on the diaphragm and causes such diaphragmto reposition the main regulator valve I9 so as to overcome themomentary pressure increase and thus assure a maximum delivery pressurein capacity.

I claim:

1. A fluid pressure regulator comprising, a body having a main fluidpassageway and a supplemental iiuid passageway, each having a highvpressure inlet and a low pressure outlet, a main valve and asupplemental valve to control the flow of iiuid through respectivepassageways, said body having a main cavity and a supplemental cavity, amain diaphragm and a supplemental diaphragm extending across respectivecavities, operating connections between respective valves and diaphragmsto move the valves in response to the movement of their diaphragms,resilient means to bias the main diaphragm to a valve closing position,resilient meansto bias the supplemental diaphragm to a valve openingposition, the supplemental diaphragm dividing its cavity into a valveclosing pressure chamber and an atmospheric chamber, the main diaphragmdividing its respective cavity into a valve closing pressure chamber anda valve opening pressure chamber, means connecting the high pressureinlets of each passageway with a common source of high fluid pressure,passageways connecting the valve closing chambers with each other andwith the low pressure outlet of the main passageway, the supplementalpassageway outlet opening directly into the opening pressure chamber ofthe main diaphragm, a passageway connecting the last mentioned chamberwith the supplemental valve closing chamber, a relief valve to controlthe now of fluid through the last named passageway, and means actingautomatically in response to movement of the supplemental diaphragm toopen said relief valve following the closing of the supplemental valveand to close said relief valve prior to the opening of the supplementalvalve.

2. A uid pressure regulator comprising, a body having a main fluidpassageway and a supplemental fluid passageway each having a highpressure inlet and a low pressure outlet, a main valve and asupplemental valve to control the now of fluid through respectivepassageways, said body having a main cavity and a supplemental cavity,each cavity having a diaphragm extending thereacross, a connectionbetween each diaphragm and its respective valve to move the respectivevalves in response to the movement of the diaphragms, resilent means tobias the main diaphragm to a valve closing position, resilient means tobias the supplemental diaphragm to a valve opening position, thesupplemental diaphragm dividing its cavity into a valve closing pressurechamber and an atmospheric chamber, the main diaphragm dividing itscavity into a valve closing pressure chamber and a valve openingpressure chamber, means connecting the high pressure inlets of eachpassageway with a source of high fluid pressure, passageways connectingthe valve closing chambers with each other and with the low pressureoutlet of the main passageway, said supplemental passageway outlet beingin direct communication with the opening pressure chamber of the mainvalve, a passageway connecting the last mentioned chamber with thesupplemental valve closing chamber, a valve to control the flow of fluidthrough the last named passageway, resilient means biasing said lastnamed valve to a closed position and means connecting the last namedvalve with the supplemental diaphragm to cause the valve to tend to openas the supplemental valve closes and to close as the supplemental valveopens, and wherein said last named biasing means acts to hold the lastnamed valve closed until the supplemental valve is closed.

3. A iiuid pressure regulator comprising, a body having a main fluidpassageway and a supplemental fluid passageway, each passageway having ahigh pressure inlet and a low pressure outlet, a main valve to controlthe flow of fluid through the main passageway, a supplemental valve tocontrol the flow of fluid through the supplemental passageway, said bodyhaving a 6, main cavity and a supplementalcavlty, each cavity having adiaphragm extendingthereacross',` a connection between the maindiaphragm and the main valve, a connection between the supplementaldiaphragm and the supplemental valve, said connections serving to movetheir respective valves in response to the movement of the respectivediaphragms, resilient means to bias the main diaphragm to a valveclosing position, resilient means to bias the supplemental. diaphragm toa valve opening position, the supplemental diaphragm dividing its cavityinto alvalve closing pressure chamber and an atmospheric chamber, themain diaphragm dividingits cavity into a valve closing pressure chamberand a valve opening chamber, means connecting the high pressure inletsof each passageway with a common source of high fluid pressure, anoutlet conduit connected with the low pressure outletof the main valvepassageway, passageways connecting the valve closing chambers with eachother and with said conduit at a point remote from said .mainpassageway, said supplemental passageway outlet being in directcommunication with the opening pressure chamber of the main valve, apassageway connecting the last mentioned chamber with the supplementalvalve closing chamber, a valve to control the flow of fluid through thelast named passageway, a spring biasing said last named valve to aclosed position and means connecting the last named valve with thesupplemental diaphragm to cause the valve to tend to open as thesupplemental valve closes and to close as the supplemental valve opens,and wherein said spring acts to close such last named valve before thesupplemental valve opens.

4. ln a fluid pressure regulator, a body having a main passageway and asupplemental passageway each having a high pressure inlet and a lowpressure outlet, a conduit connecting the low pressure inlets, a valvein each passageway to control the iiow of fluid therethrough, said bodyhaving a main cavity and a supplemental cavity, the supplemental chamberhaving a flexible diaphragm separating it into a valve closing chamberand an atmospheric chamber, the main cavity having a flexible diaphragmseparating it into a valve closing pressure chamber and a valve openingpressure chamber, connections between respective valves and diaphragmsto move the valves in response to the movement of the diaphragms, anoutlet conduit connected with the outlet of the main passageway, apassageway connecting the closing chambers of the diaphragms with eachother and with the outlet conduit at a point spaced from the mainpassageway, said supplemental passageway outlet being in directcommunication with the opening chamber of the main diaphragm, means torelieve the pressure in the main diaphragm opening chamber including arelief passageway, a normally closed relief valve to control the ilowthrough the relief passageway and means including the connection betweenthe supplemental diaphragm and the supplemental valve to open saidrelief valve consequent upon an increase in pressure in the supplementalvalve closing chamber following the closing of the supplemental valveand to close the relief consequent upon a predetermined drop in pressurein said chamber and prior to the opening of the supplemental valve.

5. In a uid pressure regulator having an inlet and an outlet, a mainvalve to control the flow of fluid from the inlet to the outlet, a pres-7 sure responsive main diaphragm connected to said valve to control themovement thereof, resilient means acting on said diaphragm and tendingto close said valve, and a pressure chamber associated with saiddiaphragm, a pilot pressure regulator to supply iiuid pressure to saiddiaphragm pressure chamber to open said valve, said pilot including abody having a passageway provided with a high pressure inlet and a lowpressure outlet, said body having a cavity spaced from said passageway,a flexible pressure responsive diaphragm extending across said cavityand coacting with said body to provide a second pressure chamberseparated from said passageway, a conduit connecting the low pressureoutlet of the pilot with the iirst named pressure chamber, a reliefpassageway connecting the iirst named pressure chamber with said secondpressure chamber, a pair of substantially aligned guideways extendingfrom said second chamber to respective passageways, a pressure valvemounted in one guideway and movable away from said chamber to close therst named passageway, a relief valve mounted in the other guideway andmovable toward said chamber to close said relief passageway, a pair ofpivotally interconnected toggle links in said pilot chamber, a pivotalconnection between said links and said relief and pressure valvesrespectively, and an operating connection between said toggle links andsaid pilot diaphragm to straighten the links as the pressure in thepilot chamber increases, resilient means biasing said pilot diaphragmtoward said toggle links, a conduit connecting the pilot chamber withthe regulator outlet, a spring normally acting to close said reliefvalve, said spring having sufcient force to overcome the force requiredto close the pressure valve whereby the pressure valve will close beforethe relief valve opens and the relief valve will close before thepressure valve opens, and means to prevent the passage of uid throughthe pressure valve guideway.

GEORGE C. HUGHES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,273,111 Kindl Feb. 17, 19422,334,496 Kindl Nov. 16, 1943 2,365,713 MacLean Dec. 26, 1944

